Edward A. Wagner - Page 12

                                       - 12 -                                         

          Commissioner, supra; Parks v. Commissioner, supra; Hebrank v.               
          Commissioner, supra.                                                        
               A conviction for willful falsification under section 7206(1)           
          does not estop a taxpayer from denying fraud.  Wright v.                    
          Commissioner, 84 T.C. 636, 643 (1985). In this case, the parties            
          have stipulated that there was an underpayment of tax by                    
          petitioners for the taxable year 1975.  It follows that the only            
          remaining issue that respondent must prove is that of fraudulent            
          intent.                                                                     
               Petitioners have presented evidence indicating that                    
          petitioner received no skim income from the sale of "Adios                  
          Amigos" to Caldwell Properties and that he may not have known               
          about the inflated nature of the reported purchase price of the             
          movie.  He was not an attorney for Caldwell.  Petitioners suggest           
          that the jury may have convicted on the section 7206(1) count               
          because the prosecution convinced it that petitioner had received           
          other film income--which respondent now concedes petitioner did             
          not receive.                                                                
               None of the counts on which petitioner was convicted, singly           
          or in combination, establishes that petitioner had fraudulent               
          intent.  Indeed, the judge at the criminal trial explicitly                 
          instructed the jury that it could convict on the section 7206(2)            
          counts whether or not petitioner intended to evade tax, whereas             
          he issued a contrasting instruction on a section 7201 charge                





Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011